title: Chemotherapy of intermediate- and high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphomas with a high-dose doxorubicin-containing regimen.
abstract: Forty-seven previously untreated patients with intermediate- or high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were treated with four courses of a regimen that consisted of high-dose (120 mg/m2) Adriamycin (doxorubicin; Adria Laboratories, Columbus, OH), vincristine (2 mg), cytarabine (3 gm/m2), and dexamethasone (50 mg intravenously [IV] on day 1 and 20 mg/day orally on days 2 to 5) (AVAD), which was administered every 3 to 4 weeks. The median age of the patients was 58 years; 72% were Ann Arbor stage IV, 49% had "B" symptoms, 62% had masses larger than 7 cm, 40% had masses at least 10 cm in diameter, and 49% had serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) greater than 250 U/L. Overall, 72% of the patients (89% of diffuse large-cell lymphoma [DLCL] patients) attained complete (CR) or probable complete responses (PCR), and relapses occurred in 32%. There were no episodes of clinical congestive heart failure, but one patient developed recurrent ventricular arrhythmias. Fever during neutropenia occurred with 65% of treatment courses. Three deaths were attributed primarily to complications of therapy. The lymphoma-free survival of all entered patients is 51% (24 of 47), with a follow-up of 30 to 67 months (median, 58 months). These results confirm that high CR/PCR and long-term survival rates can be achieved in patients with aggressive histologies of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, even in groups with poor prognostic factors, using high-dose anthracycline-containing chemotherapy regimens delivered over a short period of time. However, the apparently higher relapse rate in comparison to our previous study leads us to speculate that consolidation with noncross-resistant agents may be helpful in increasing even further the cure rate in this group of patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Alabama, Birmingham 35294.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Zuckerman
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: LoBuglio
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Reeves
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use* / Q000633:toxicity; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity; D004317:Doxorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012074:Remission Induction; D015996:Survival Rate; D014750:Vincristine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D003561:Cytarabine; D014750:Vincristine; D003907:Dexamethasone; D004317:Doxorubicin